Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel
@waterpotential.bsky.social
Lumbee hydrologist, author, engaged scholar, & North Carolinian. Associate Professor at Duke studying water, ecosystems, climate change, environmental justice, & Indigenous rights. Book: ON THE SWAMP (UNC Press). he/him www.RyanEmanuel.com
Pinned
Misinformation about the presidential memo on Lumbee recognition is frustrating but not unexpected given the complexity of the issue. Here is a short FAQ followed by suggested readings to help clear the air.
Re-sharing a 2022 article from the journal Southern Cultures about 100+ years of extractive research on my Tribe. It's well known that extractive research can harm Indigenous peoples; my coauthor & I show how it can also lead to poor results & junk insights.
www.southerncultures.org/article/stor...
www.southerncultures.org/article/stor...
Stories We Tell
Telling one’s own story is a way of asserting identity. It is simultaneously a fundamental responsibility and an inherent gift for each human being—and is often one of the first casualties of…
www.southerncultures.org
November 26, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Re-sharing a 2022 article from the journal Southern Cultures about 100+ years of extractive research on my Tribe. It's well known that extractive research can harm Indigenous peoples; my coauthor & I show how it can also lead to poor results & junk insights.
www.southerncultures.org/article/stor...
www.southerncultures.org/article/stor...
⚡️ New Paper ⚡️
“Indigenous invisibility: Gaps in education about Indigenous peoples among environmental decision-makers” led by Dr. Brittany Hunt (Virginia Tech).
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #EnvironmentalJustice #Lumbee #geosky 🌎
“Indigenous invisibility: Gaps in education about Indigenous peoples among environmental decision-makers” led by Dr. Brittany Hunt (Virginia Tech).
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #EnvironmentalJustice #Lumbee #geosky 🌎
Indigenous invisibility: Gaps in education about Indigenous peoples among environmental decision‐makers
Millions of Indigenous people belong to hundreds of Tribal nations and self-determined communities throughout the United States. Many of these groups continue to steward lands and waters that have sh...
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:24 PM
⚡️ New Paper ⚡️
“Indigenous invisibility: Gaps in education about Indigenous peoples among environmental decision-makers” led by Dr. Brittany Hunt (Virginia Tech).
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #EnvironmentalJustice #Lumbee #geosky 🌎
“Indigenous invisibility: Gaps in education about Indigenous peoples among environmental decision-makers” led by Dr. Brittany Hunt (Virginia Tech).
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #EnvironmentalJustice #Lumbee #geosky 🌎
Dr. Seth Grooms is an Indigenous archaeology professor whose research puts community first. Check out his recent presentation for the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources on the eve of the state's annual American Indian Heritage Celebration.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB7_... #Lumbee
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB7_... #Lumbee
Archaeology: An American Indian Perspective
YouTube video by N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Dr. Seth Grooms is an Indigenous archaeology professor whose research puts community first. Check out his recent presentation for the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources on the eve of the state's annual American Indian Heritage Celebration.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB7_... #Lumbee
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB7_... #Lumbee
I found a timeline of my Interlibrary Loan requests from @ncsulibraries.bsky.social back when I was a professor at @ncstate.bsky.social.
There are inklings of my book as far back as 2010 before the dam broke in 2016-2017.
#Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvHist #OnTheSwamp @uncpress.bsky.social
There are inklings of my book as far back as 2010 before the dam broke in 2016-2017.
#Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvHist #OnTheSwamp @uncpress.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 1:58 AM
I found a timeline of my Interlibrary Loan requests from @ncsulibraries.bsky.social back when I was a professor at @ncstate.bsky.social.
There are inklings of my book as far back as 2010 before the dam broke in 2016-2017.
#Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvHist #OnTheSwamp @uncpress.bsky.social
There are inklings of my book as far back as 2010 before the dam broke in 2016-2017.
#Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvHist #OnTheSwamp @uncpress.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel
As part of American Indian Heritage Month, we're looking back at the artists featured in last year's exhibition, "To Take Shape and Meaning."
Harlen Chavis Jr., a Lumbee freestyle artist, utilizes natural materials - pottery sherds, glass, copper, and gold to create culturally reflective jewelry.
Harlen Chavis Jr., a Lumbee freestyle artist, utilizes natural materials - pottery sherds, glass, copper, and gold to create culturally reflective jewelry.
November 19, 2025 at 7:46 PM
As part of American Indian Heritage Month, we're looking back at the artists featured in last year's exhibition, "To Take Shape and Meaning."
Harlen Chavis Jr., a Lumbee freestyle artist, utilizes natural materials - pottery sherds, glass, copper, and gold to create culturally reflective jewelry.
Harlen Chavis Jr., a Lumbee freestyle artist, utilizes natural materials - pottery sherds, glass, copper, and gold to create culturally reflective jewelry.
New @nybooks.com essay by @robtsullivan.bsky.social interweaves reviews of On the Swamp & Wilkinson's Treaty Justice.
⚡ "If there is hope for the earth, it will depend in part on acknowledging indigenous sovereignty in the face of insatiable resource extraction." ⚡
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
⚡ "If there is hope for the earth, it will depend in part on acknowledging indigenous sovereignty in the face of insatiable resource extraction." ⚡
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
The Third Sovereign | Robert Sullivan
If there is hope for the earth, it will depend in part on acknowledging indigenous sovereignty in the face of insatiable resource extraction.
www.nybooks.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:44 PM
New @nybooks.com essay by @robtsullivan.bsky.social interweaves reviews of On the Swamp & Wilkinson's Treaty Justice.
⚡ "If there is hope for the earth, it will depend in part on acknowledging indigenous sovereignty in the face of insatiable resource extraction." ⚡
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
⚡ "If there is hope for the earth, it will depend in part on acknowledging indigenous sovereignty in the face of insatiable resource extraction." ⚡
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel
The wonderful people at @uncpress.bsky.social sent me an advance copy of my book and I think I’ll have a little cry now. You can order it from here and it will arrive soon (use code 01UNCP30) for a discount uncpress.org/978146968920...
November 13, 2025 at 11:33 PM
The wonderful people at @uncpress.bsky.social sent me an advance copy of my book and I think I’ll have a little cry now. You can order it from here and it will arrive soon (use code 01UNCP30) for a discount uncpress.org/978146968920...
#OnTheSwamp has been out for ~20 months, and I've traveled quite a bit sharing stories from the book & connections to other research topics. The travel was exciting, a mix of familiar & new. But glad to have a break until spring 2026. 74 total events since last spring, 56 of them in-person.
November 13, 2025 at 2:19 AM
#OnTheSwamp has been out for ~20 months, and I've traveled quite a bit sharing stories from the book & connections to other research topics. The travel was exciting, a mix of familiar & new. But glad to have a break until spring 2026. 74 total events since last spring, 56 of them in-person.
This article by @aknewsom.bsky.social is a good summary of last week's Senate Indian Affairs committee hearing on S.107 - a bill that would strike discriminatory language from the 1956 Lumbee Act.
Native American leaders and representatives testified before a Senate committee Nov. 5 about whether the U.S. government should extend full federal recognition and services to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Reported for Medill News Service
medillonthehill.medill.northwestern.edu/2025/11/sena...
medillonthehill.medill.northwestern.edu/2025/11/sena...
Senate committee considers extending federal recognition and services to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina - Medill on the Hill
The Committee on Indian Affairs will examine a bill to recognize the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and make them eligible for national services. They are the last tribe to be affected by “termination...
medillonthehill.medill.northwestern.edu
November 13, 2025 at 1:46 AM
This article by @aknewsom.bsky.social is a good summary of last week's Senate Indian Affairs committee hearing on S.107 - a bill that would strike discriminatory language from the 1956 Lumbee Act.
Today the Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing on S.107, which amends the 1956 Lumbee Act by striking language that bans a formal relationship between Tribe & US. Recording embedded in page below. 👇🏽
www.indian.senate.gov/hearings/leg... #Indigenous
www.indian.senate.gov/hearings/leg... #Indigenous
Legislative Hearing on S.107, the Lumbee Fairness Act - Indian Affairs Committee
www.indian.senate.gov
November 6, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Today the Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing on S.107, which amends the 1956 Lumbee Act by striking language that bans a formal relationship between Tribe & US. Recording embedded in page below. 👇🏽
www.indian.senate.gov/hearings/leg... #Indigenous
www.indian.senate.gov/hearings/leg... #Indigenous
Summary of recent fieldwork in coastal NC - We ground truthed part of a massive new dataset of ghost forests along the US east coast. First paper of the project, led by Henry Yeung (UVA), should be out soon.
www.science.org/content/arti... #hydrology #remoteSensing #geosky
www.science.org/content/arti... #hydrology #remoteSensing #geosky
AI reveals vast ‘ghost forests’ along U.S. coast
Machine learning method counts nearly 12 million dead trees, many likely killed by rising seas
www.science.org
October 29, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Summary of recent fieldwork in coastal NC - We ground truthed part of a massive new dataset of ghost forests along the US east coast. First paper of the project, led by Henry Yeung (UVA), should be out soon.
www.science.org/content/arti... #hydrology #remoteSensing #geosky
www.science.org/content/arti... #hydrology #remoteSensing #geosky
Redistricting splits up North Carolina's tribal service areas. It's especially bad for Lumbee and Coharie - each tribe's service area is split into 3 districts. Nationally, most Indigenous people live in cities. But NC flips that pattern, with most living in rural tribal service areas. #ncpol
October 18, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Redistricting splits up North Carolina's tribal service areas. It's especially bad for Lumbee and Coharie - each tribe's service area is split into 3 districts. Nationally, most Indigenous people live in cities. But NC flips that pattern, with most living in rural tribal service areas. #ncpol
In 2016, numbers on the "NC Promise" plan pointed to an eventual ~$3M annual shortfall, which many people pointed out (myself included). I wasn't right on all details, but it was predictable that the General Assembly wouldn't fully fund the gap as enrollments grew on these campuses. #nced #ncpol
For the third year in a row, North Carolina's Promise initiative is facing a multimillion-dollar deficit amid significant enrollment gains across its four member institutions.
www.wunc.org/education/20...
www.wunc.org/education/20...
North Carolina's low-tuition college initiative is projecting a multimillion-dollar deficit — again
The $3.3 million gap is set to impact the System's NC Promise institutions.
www.wunc.org
October 17, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Clippy is clearly pulling the strings at Microsoft.
This is the future of Windows. Microsoft wants to rewrite Windows to turn computers into AI PCs that you talk to. It's now bringing AI features to all Windows 11 PCs today, in a bid to convince you to talk to your PC and let AI control it. Full details 👇 www.theverge.com/news/799768/...
Microsoft wants you to talk to your PC and let AI control it
Copilot Voice and Vision are now rolling out.
www.theverge.com
October 16, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Clippy is clearly pulling the strings at Microsoft.
Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel
The Geology Dept at WWU is hiring an Assistant Prof in Hydrology! Come be my colleague in a great department! More info in the attached flyer, and at hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...
October 13, 2025 at 7:20 PM
The Geology Dept at WWU is hiring an Assistant Prof in Hydrology! Come be my colleague in a great department! More info in the attached flyer, and at hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...
Happy #IndigenousPeoplesDay from @markruffalo.bsky.social, whose 2019 film "Dark Waters" eliminated one of the early title ideas for my book (b/c Lumbees call ourselves People of the Dark Water).😬 In the end, I'm super happy with the title: ON THE SWAMP.
October 13, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Happy #IndigenousPeoplesDay from @markruffalo.bsky.social, whose 2019 film "Dark Waters" eliminated one of the early title ideas for my book (b/c Lumbees call ourselves People of the Dark Water).😬 In the end, I'm super happy with the title: ON THE SWAMP.
It's #IndigenousPeoplesDay in North Carolina. Read the governor's proclamation here. 1/2
governor.nc.gov/governor-ste... #ncpol
governor.nc.gov/governor-ste... #ncpol
Governor Stein Proclaims Indigenous Peoples' Day | NC Governor
governor.nc.gov
October 13, 2025 at 9:01 PM
It's #IndigenousPeoplesDay in North Carolina. Read the governor's proclamation here. 1/2
governor.nc.gov/governor-ste... #ncpol
governor.nc.gov/governor-ste... #ncpol
Reposted by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel
We're hiring a tenure-track assistant professor in Dept of Environmental Studies at University of Colorado Boulder with expertise in energy & environmental policy, and emphases on sustainability & decarbonization. The job ad is here, apply by the Nov 14 deadline! jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
Assistant Professor in Environmental Studies
jobs.colorado.edu
October 12, 2025 at 12:58 PM
We're hiring a tenure-track assistant professor in Dept of Environmental Studies at University of Colorado Boulder with expertise in energy & environmental policy, and emphases on sustainability & decarbonization. The job ad is here, apply by the Nov 14 deadline! jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
Congrats to my friend & colleague Nancy Strickland Chavis for receiving the William Collins Smith Auburn Award for Advancing American Art! Nancy leads the Museum of the SE American Indian at UNC Pembroke & curated a major exhibit last year @ NC Art Museum. 👇🏽👏🏽
jcsm.auburn.edu/auburn-museu... #Lumbee
jcsm.auburn.edu/auburn-museu... #Lumbee
Auburn museum awards $25,000 to American scholar advancing creativity, innovation and experimentation – Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art
jcsm.auburn.edu
October 7, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Congrats to my friend & colleague Nancy Strickland Chavis for receiving the William Collins Smith Auburn Award for Advancing American Art! Nancy leads the Museum of the SE American Indian at UNC Pembroke & curated a major exhibit last year @ NC Art Museum. 👇🏽👏🏽
jcsm.auburn.edu/auburn-museu... #Lumbee
jcsm.auburn.edu/auburn-museu... #Lumbee
Saw #OnTheSwamp today on displayat Birchbark Books in Minneapolis. I signed their copy and also got to sign their wall of authors!
#Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice #Lumbee
#Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice #Lumbee
October 3, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Saw #OnTheSwamp today on displayat Birchbark Books in Minneapolis. I signed their copy and also got to sign their wall of authors!
#Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice #Lumbee
#Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice #Lumbee
Just heard inspiring words from @ltgovflanagan.mn.gov about the importance of taking up space - #LandBack one conference room table at a time. Today is a showcase of #Indigenous excellence at the AISES National Conference in Minneapolis.
October 2, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Just heard inspiring words from @ltgovflanagan.mn.gov about the importance of taking up space - #LandBack one conference room table at a time. Today is a showcase of #Indigenous excellence at the AISES National Conference in Minneapolis.
Great thread on historical drainage of wetlands. 🧵👇🏽 #EnvHist
Why did humans drain wetlands, Fenland as an example,
by the turn of the nineteenth century only 50,000 acres of Cambridgeshire fenland had been drained, leaving 150,000 acres of waste and unimproved fen waterlogged by shallow floods. Malaria (ague) was endemic, believed to be caused by miasma.
by the turn of the nineteenth century only 50,000 acres of Cambridgeshire fenland had been drained, leaving 150,000 acres of waste and unimproved fen waterlogged by shallow floods. Malaria (ague) was endemic, believed to be caused by miasma.
October 1, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Great thread on historical drainage of wetlands. 🧵👇🏽 #EnvHist
The Journal of Geophysical Research universe is getting out of hand.
September 22, 2025 at 10:27 PM
The Journal of Geophysical Research universe is getting out of hand.
Finally back in North Carolina after a wonderful trip to UConn to speak about my book & meet amazing folks like Dr. Kat Milligan-McClellan (@napaaqtuk.bsky.social). And it was an honor to be part of their decades-long Teale Lecture series.
I feel very lucky to have heard Ryan Emmanuel @waterpotential.bsky.social talk yesterday and to have a one-on-one chat this morning. I could have talked to Dr. Emanuel for hours. Such cool work, and excellent perspectives on how to work close to and for your tribe while in academia.
September 20, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Finally back in North Carolina after a wonderful trip to UConn to speak about my book & meet amazing folks like Dr. Kat Milligan-McClellan (@napaaqtuk.bsky.social). And it was an honor to be part of their decades-long Teale Lecture series.
Excited to be part of this event with Kirsten Squint next month, hosted by Erica Abrams Locklear as part of UNC Asheville’s Rising Waters series. Come join us! Registration link: www.unca.edu/events-and-n... #OnTheSwamp #Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice
September 19, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Excited to be part of this event with Kirsten Squint next month, hosted by Erica Abrams Locklear as part of UNC Asheville’s Rising Waters series. Come join us! Registration link: www.unca.edu/events-and-n... #OnTheSwamp #Indigenous #EnvironmentalJustice